Travel With KDH

Jaffna Fort
Tamil: யாழ்ப்பாணக் கோட்டை,
romanized: Yāḻppāṇak Kōṭṭai;
Sinhala: යාපනය බලකොටුව

Yapanaya Balakotuwa) is a fort built by the Portuguese at Jaffna, Sri Lanka in 1618 under Phillippe de Oliveira following the Portuguese invasion of Jaffna. The fort is located near the coastal village of Gurunagar. Due to numerous miracles attributed to the statue of Virgin Mary in the church nearby, the fort was named as Fortress of Our Lady of Miracles of Jafanapatão (Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora dos Milagres de Jafanapatão). It was captured by the Dutch under Rijcklof van Goens in 1658 who expanded it. In 1795, it was taken over by the British, and remained under the control of a British garrison till 1948. As the only large military fort in the country, due to the presence of only government and military buildings within its ramparts, it was garrisoned by a detachment of the Ceylon Army.

Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil (Tamil: நல்லூர் கந்தசுவாமி கோவில் Sinhala: නල්ලුරුව ස්කන්ධ කුමාර කෝවිල) is a significant Hindu temple, located in Nallur, Northern Province, Sri Lanka.The presiding deity is Lord Murugan in the form of the holy 'Vel' in the Sanctum, the primary shrine, and in other forms, namely, Shanmugar, Muthukumaraswami, Valli Kaanthar with consorts Valli and Deivayanai, and Thandayuthapani, sans consorts in secondary shrines in the temple.